Childish Gambino is in album mode. The versatile Donald Glover has been focusing on his television career, but in a brand new project, he’s reprising his role as Gambino. Details surrounding the album are scarce, but fans have heard snippets of the music over time. The latest news, teased by Gambino himself, is the most exciting yet. It brings a completely new sound and involves his long-time collaborator Ludwig Goranson.
On June 9, Childish Gambino shared a video of him and Goranson together in the studio on Instagram. The former can play tracks while Goransson sits in the chair next to him. “It’s just like – you know, there are less and less people playing instruments,” Gambino told his producers. “It’s like everyone’s just taking their voice and filling it with a bunch of reverb.” The song is a denunciation of what Gambino calls “reverb.” The song is rarely heard in the film, but it does have a funky drum pattern and synths. The latter implementation sounds like a hybrid of the styles Childish Gambino displayed on his first two albums.
Childish Gambino’s new song has funky instrumental
The instrumentation has a cinematic quality to it, which makes perfect sense given Gambino’s intentions. He announced that his upcoming album Bando Stone and the Free World will be the soundtrack to the film of the same name. Gambino cleverly teased the movie concept in 2013’s Because of the Internet, which had an accompanying script. It helps that Gambino’s Donald Glover has appeared in several blockbusters and TV series. It helped even more than Ludwig Göransson become one of the most respected and emulated film composers of the past decade.
This upcoming Childish Gambino album is receiving extra hype. It’s been jokingly called the last production to feature the Gambino moniker, an issue Goranson has been careful to discuss in interviews. “If he’s making a statement like that, I think he’s a serious guy,” the Oscar winner told The Wrap. “Music is a part of his life, so I’m sure he’ll invent some new way to make music or art or whatever. But if he says he’s tired of Childish Gambino — he’s screwed.” However, Goranson did note how much he enjoyed experimenting with Glover. “I never know what’s going to happen,” he gushed. “On a new project, on a new song. It can go anywhere.”
About the author
Danilo is a writer from San Diego. He graduated from the Tucson Art Institute with a bachelor’s degree in digital media and began a career as a pop culture journalist. Prior to joining HotNewHipHop.com, he performed hip-hop covers for Heavy.com, Rhyme Junkies and PopMatters. Danilo’s top five is constantly changing, but Biggie and Slug from Atmosphere remain permanent fixtures. His favorite rap album of all time is Kanye West’s Late Registration, and that’s always been the case.
